Thursday, June 14, 2012

Geneva -Palestinian
fishermen trying to eke out a living in Gaza are continuing to be
harassed by the Israeli military, destroying an industry that once
supported more than 70,000 residents of the poverty-stricken enclave,
according to a new report from Euro-Mid Observer for Human rights.

Between
January 2011 and the end of April 2012, the Euro-Mid Observer for Human
Rights documented approximately 150 incidents in which the Israeli Navy
prevented Gazan fishermen from plying their trade – including 60
arrests at sea, 12 injuries and 20 cases of sabotage or confiscation of
boats and fishing gear. Many of the fishermen and their passengers are
subjected to degrading and inhumane treatment, such as forced immersion
while naked in the sea under harsh weather conditions. Many also report
being pressured to provide “intelligence” against co-workers and
community members under threat of harm to their relatives, and sometimes
even torture while detained for days or months.

Although
an agreement between the government of Israel and the Palestinian
Authority signed in 1993 guaranteed Gazans the right to fish up to 20
nautical miles from their shores, the Israeli military has gradually
reduced the safe area.

The
terms of the 1993 Oslo agreement called for a fishing zone of 20
nautical miles from Gaza’s shore. However, since the year 2000, with the
beginning of the second Intifada, the Israeli military has imposed
increasing restrictions on fishermen’s access to the sea. When the
Israeli military unleashed “Operation Cast Lead” at the end of 2008,
fishing – or any other presence in the water – was prohibited beyond
three miles, a crippling restriction that has remained in effect until
the present. Since the richest shoals are found between 5-8 nautical
miles from Gaza’s shoreline, the shrinking fishing space has resulted in
overfishing in shallow, coastal waters and the depletion of fish
breeding grounds. Thousands of fishermen have thus been forced to
abandon the industry.

“These
restrictions and retributions against Gazans simply trying to support
their families is collective punishment, pure and simple,” said Amani
Senwar, a spokesperson for Euro-Mid. “Many internationals mistakenly
believe that Israel disengaged from Gaza in 2005, when it withdrew its
settlers. However, these restrictions on access to the sea makes clear
that Israel is continuing its suffocating occupation and blockade in
violation of international law and the United Nations Convention of the
Law of the Sea. It is time for the United Nations and other global
bodies to hold Israel to account.”

The
30-page report, which can be accessed on the Euro-Mid website, details
the legal violations committed by the Israeli occupation forces by
restricting the movement of fishermen, targeting their boats,
jeopardizing their safety and arbitrarily detaining them. EuroMid is
registered as a human rights organization with internationally operating
offices in Geneva, Switzerland, Jordan, and Palestinian Territories.